Together
by Kate Stone
Summary: What if Jackson said yes when April asked him to go to Joe's with her in 9x22.


**Hey! So I decided to write this after watching 9x22. What if Jackson said yes when April asked him to go to Joe's with her in 9x22. Read and find out :)**

"Is it weird that all I wanna do right now is go for a drink, hey you wanna go to Joe's?" April asked with a hopeful smile.

Her smile made him smile. He was glad that he and April were acting like friends again; he had missed that part of their relationship so much. He had plans with Alex, but Alex wouldn't care if he blew him off. However, he was worried about being alone with April. His feelings toward her that he'd buried awhile ago have been resurfacing, and they have been resurfacing today especially. She is the only one who has expressed any confidence in him about running Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital, besides his crazy mother. He really needed that today after being the target of blame about Bailey and the CDC by his fellow board members. April's comment really cheered him up because it was so genuine. However, he wasn't sure if he trusted himself with her alone, especially if there would be alcohol involved. He didn't want to do something stupid or get his feelings hurt again.

He was going to say no, that was his final decision. He looked down at April to tell her, but instead saw her friendly smile that brightened up her whole face. "Yeah… a-ah drink sounds good right now."

"Great! I just need to go to the nurse's station real quick and then go change. Wanna meet at the front of the hospital?" April asked eagerly

"Yeah, I'll meet you there in a few," Jackson responded with a slight smile.

"Okay" she said, "This… this will be fun, just like old times."

Jackson nodded in agreement before she gave him one last smile and turned to walk away. Jackson whispered to himself, "Yeah… just me and you…"

* * *

"This was a good idea," Jackson said as Joe came over with two more beers for the both of them.

"I have a few once in a while" she said as she took a sip from her beer bottle.

Jackson just smiled at her and took a drink from his too.

"It was a good idea though, dealing with those girls all day, I deserved to have a beer," she said with a small laugh.

"Or three…" Jackson corrected with a smirk.

April just smile, "Yes… or three."

Jackson was starting his third too, and he was feeling good, Joe's was a very good idea. April seemed to be having a good time too, and she was noticeably farther along than he was, but he didn't mind, she was harmless when she drank, pretty cute actually. He and April haven't done something like this in awhile, and it was nice just to hang-out with her.

Trying to get a rise out of her, he said, "They weren't so bad… those girls…" April looked at him like he had two heads so he laughed, "Okay, they were a little out of control."

"Just a little..." April questioned.

"Okay, a lot out of control!" Jackson responded.

April just laughed. She took another sip of her beer before she said, "They took a liking to you…"

"Must be the Avery Sparkle," Jackson joked.

"Ha-ha, that must be it," April said sarcastically before she hit him lightly on the shoulder, spilling some of her beer on the floor in the process. "Oops," April said through a giggle. Jackson began laughing with her; she was definitely farther along than he was.

Jackson just smiled at April. He knew that his feelings towards her recently have been more than friendly feelings, but being with April felt good, and like she said earlier, reminded him of the old times, when their friendship was nice and easy. He took one last swig at his beer and finished it. He put it down on the bar and said, "I'm just glad their friend is going to be alright."

"Yeah, me too, thanks for scrubbing in with me, you were really great," April said. It was nice to be in the OR with him again, they worked well together.

"You're welcome," Jackson answered with a smile.

April moved in her bar seat to face Jackson. She held her beer in her hand and began to twirl it, "Is it bad that I'm a little lightheaded right now?"

"Not surprising, you were never a big drinker," Jackson answered.

"This is true," she said while sipping from her beer.

"I like when you drink, you're funny, get into bar fights…" Jackson said with a smile as he remembered San Francisco.

"So embarrassing" she remembered as she covered her face with her hands.

"You're also cute when you drink…" Jackson said softly as he looked down at her.

April removed her hands from her face and looked up at him. Jackson was looking at her with intense eyes, which made her blush slightly.

Before April had the chance to respond, Jackson's phone beeped. He directed his eyes away from April and saw that he had a text from Stephanie.

_Hey, I'm gonna head over to Joe's, want to meet me there?_

" Shit", Jackson mumbled under his breath, he completely forgot that he was suppose to hang-out with her… again, and he didn't want her to see him with April.

"Everything okay?" April asked as she took another sip of her almost empty beer.

"Um…yeah, I ah," he said while looking down at his phone "… I probably should leave; I have to um get up early tomorrow, big meeting…"

"Oh, okay," April said as her smile went away, she was having a really good time spending time with Jackson, but it was getting late and she also had work in the morning, "We can leave."

April stood up and stumbled a little bit. When she steadied herself, she went into her purse and grabbed her car keys, dropping her purse in the process. Jackson just watched her amusingly and knew she couldn't drive herself home. When she stood up from picking up her purse he grabbed her keys from her grasp, "Wait…what, what are you doing Jackson?"

"I'll drive you home" Jackson said as he held her keys out of her reach.

"I'm fine Jackson, really," April responded as she tried to grab her keys.

"I'd feel better if I brought you home April" Jackson replied.

April knew he wouldn't take no for an answer, "Fine, if I'm not driving…" she finished the beer she was working on and turned toward the bar signaling Joe, "Two for the road please," she turned around and had a huge grin on her face, "You want one, right?"

Her smile was infectious, and he always had a problem saying no to her. He ran a hand over his head and answered, "Probably shouldn't but what the hell, beer for the road sounds good," he said with a smirk.

While they waited for their beers, Jackson texted Stephanie: _I just got home. I have a big meeting tomorrow morning so I'm just gonna head to bed, tomorrow?_

Jackson paid their tab and grabbed their beers. As he handed April one he asked, "Ready to get out of here?" April nodded her head and took a sip of her beer before she left with Jackson closely behind.

* * *

April was very talkative, to say the least, while they walked to her car, and Jackson found it very entertaining. "You know Jackson, I'm glad we did this, this was fun…I had fun, did you have fun, I had fun."

"I had a great time April," Jackson answered as he watched her walk beside him.

April tipped back her head as she took a large sip of her beer as she began walking backwards in front of Jackson, "We should do this more often, this felt good, like when we used to hang out… right?" she said looking right at him.

"Right", he answered as he grabbed her shoulders to turn her around so she was walking forward beside him. Walking backwards didn't seem like a smart idea.

"I'm glad were friends again, I missed you Jackman, I've missed my friend, my best friend!" April said as she looked up at Jackson.

He took a drink from his beer and said, "I'm glad too, me and you, right?" he asked as he playfully nudged her.

"Me and you…" she responded while looking up at him with a huge smile on her face. Jackson looked down at her and returned her smile. When April looked forward again they were close to her car, "My car! I can't wait to get home and sleep."

When they reached her car, April hopped into the passenger seat right away. Jackson got into the driver seat, but barley fit. "Why do you keep the seat so close to the wheel?"

"It's not that close, just move it back," April responded.

Jackson moved the seat back a little before he settled on a good spot, "Much better," he said smirking at April.

"I'm so glad," she said as she put her seat belt and got comfortable in the passenger seat.

Jackson adjusted the rear-view mirror before he started the engine, "Okay, where to?"

When he didn't get an answer he looked down at April to find that she was sleeping next to him in the passenger seat. "April, you up?" he asked quietly. She didn't respond. He didn't know where she lived so he needed to wake her up. He had never been to her apartment before. This saddened him, but their relationship this year had been rocky. April looked so peaceful sleeping and he didn't have it in him to wake her up. He grabbed her barley touched beer bottle that she was still holding and put it in the cup holder, put the car in reverse, and started to his apartment.

When he arrived to his apartment he put the car in park and shut the engine off. He looked down at April and wasn't sure what to do.

"April, wake up," he spoke gently. She didn't even flinch, "April, I brought you to my apartment, you're going to stay here tonight...April?" Nothing, Jackson opened the car door and walked over to the other side. He opened April's door, undid her seat belt, picked her up, and closed the door.

She stirred in her sleep and mumbled quietly, "Jackson…"

"I'm gonna bring you upstairs." As he made his way up to his apartment, April began cuddling into him, which was not good for the platonic relationship he wanted with her.

When he got inside he dropped his keys on the kitchen counter and brought April to his bedroom and tucked her into his bed. When she was settled in his bed, he sat next to her for a little; she looked so peaceful while she slept. He brushed a few pieces of hair out of her eyes before he got up and walked to his dresser to grab a shirt and shorts to wear to bed. He grabbed the clothes and walked over to the doorway. He looked at her once more before he closed the door and left the room. After he got ready for bed, he walked over to the couch in the living room and sat down on it, burying his head in his hands in frustration.

He knew that he would probably always have feelings for April; they have known each other for many years. Transitioning into lovers was so easy for them because they were already so close and knew everything about each other, well almost everything. He still didn't know why she hid her religious beliefs from him. If it was such an important aspect of her life, why hadn't she bothered to tell him? Going to Joe's tonight was both good and bad for him. He was glad that they got to hang out like they used to and be friends. However, being around her was hard for him. Feelings kept resurfacing and recently these feeling have been becoming harder to fight off. He didn't know what he wanted to do or know where April's head was at. She blames him for taking her virginity one day, and then tells him that he didn't do anything wrong the next day. He didn't know what he wanted to do, but he knew that they he had unresolved feelings for her.

He raised his head and decided to lie down, grabbing the blanket that was draped over the top of the couch to cover him. He knew that he was going to be up for awhile because the girl in the next room was still on his mind.

**Hope you guys liked it! Thought it was more Jackson/April friendly. I'm excited for 9x23, its Sarah Drew's favorite episode so I hope it's good! Leave a review if you want :)**


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